Econintersect: Week 19 of 2013 ending 11 May shows same week total rail traffic improved according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR):

Four week rolling average is improving (normal for this time of year);

13 week rolling average is improving ( normal for this time of year);

52 week rolling average is improving ( normal for this time of year);

Follow up:

A summary of the data:

"Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2012, led by petroleum and petroleum products, up 50.8 percent. Commodities showing a decrease compared with the same week last year included grain, down 21.3 percent, and farm and food products, excluding grain, down 10 percent.

For the first 19 weeks of 2013, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,244,498 carloads, down 1.9 percent from the same point last year, and 4,540,879 intermodal units, up 4.3 percent from last year. Total U.S. traffic for the first 19 weeks of 2013 was 9,785,377 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.9 percent from last year. ”

USA coal production is up 1.8% same week year-over-year, and coal over the last few months is becoming a neutral to positive dynamic on rail.

Make
a Comment

Econintersect wants your comments,
data and opinion on the articles posted. As the internet is a
"war zone" of trolls, hackers and spammers - Econintersect must balance its
defences against ease of commenting. We have joined with Livefyre
to manage our comment streams.

To comment, just click the "Sign In" button at the top-left corner of
the comment box below. You can create a commenting account using your
favorite social network such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or
Open ID - or open a Livefyre account using your email address.